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  • The Queen's Fool

  • A Novel (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels)
  • Written by: Philippa Gregory
  • Narrated by: Yolanda Kettle
  • Length: 21 hrs
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (21 ratings)

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The Queen's Fool

Written by: Philippa Gregory
Narrated by: Yolanda Kettle
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Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best-selling author and “queen of royal fiction” (USA Today) Philippa Gregory weaves a spellbinding tale of a young woman with the ability to see the future in an era when destiny was anything but clear.

Winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a 14-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee with her father from their home in Spain. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee; she has the gift of “Sight”, the ability to foresee the future, priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. 

Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward’s protector, who brings her to court as a “holy fool” for Queen Mary and ultimately Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up with her own yearnings and desires.

Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen’s Fool is a rich and emotionally resonant gem from a masterful storyteller. 

©2004 Philippa Gregory Limited (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

What listeners love about The Queen's Fool

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  • Overall
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As always wonderful.

The authors note at the end makes the change in Amy Dudley make sense. The book was wonderful.

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Thoroughly enjoyed

Started out slow but picked up as it went on and finished strongly. Worth the read!

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  • R. L. Carter
  • 2020-12-30

A narrator to remember

The writing is brilliant, of course. Anyone familiar with Gregory’s writing knows that. I want to focus here in the gifted narrator Yolanda Kettle. Her narration could be the true gem of this selection. The emotional landscape and range of characters is demanding, and Kettle is pitch perfect from the voices of the Spanish Jews living incognito in England to all of the voices in the court of Queen Mary and everyone in between up and down social classes of Englanders. She fully embodies the characters without the sham caricature voices you sometimes hear in audiobooks. I have two masters degrees in drama and taught acting, voice and dialects, SO WOW! I was truly awestruck by this performance. Could not stop listening. You won’t be disappointed. Yolanda Kettle is a name I will remember. I will listen to anything she narrates, and I hope she reads this. I’m a huge fan.

10 people found this helpful

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  • Jennifer Markee
  • 2019-07-29

Best Tudor/Plantagenet to date

This novel has, without a doubt, been my favorite of Gregory’s Tudor/Plantagenet series. I have just one left to read (the Amy Dudley story). I’m sad to be coming to the end of these breathtaking novels, but so elated a story of a commoner slipping between three worlds was part of the journey. Hannah’s diplomacy, her faith, her spirit, and her unassuming truth have left me feeling more connected to the past than any story from the point of view of royalty ever could. Hannah, in all her foolish honesty, is the most relatable heroine of all of Gregory’s novels I’ve had the pleasure to consume. Do yourself a favor, take a listen.

6 people found this helpful

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  • Placeholder
  • 2021-05-22

Phillappa Gregory vs Alison Weir

Alison Weir is more scholarly and I believe she does more research and is more accurate. However PG’s novels are more lively. So I chose them according to my mood. Sometimes I read both!

4 people found this helpful

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  • bigdjunta
  • 2021-07-22

Out of the park!!!

This series has been a Godsend. I've been sick, flat on my back and I would have been bored out of my mind had it not been for these books.
From the writing to the narration these books are complete perfection.
Get this series!! You won't regret it.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Jessica G
  • 2020-02-05

meh

Hannah is such an annoying character. She's back and forth, doesnt know what she wants. I finished to the end because I needed resolution to this one, but she is just so wishy washy. Gets herself caught up in all this mess and then is shocked to find out she's caught in the mess. Not one of my fav P.G. novels to be honest.

2 people found this helpful

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  • Susan
  • 2021-06-18

My fav book by Philippa yet!

This story had me enraptured the whole time. And the narrator was magnificent. I don't want it to end!

1 person found this helpful

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  • Kim YangHee
  • 2021-03-06

Entertaining but...

The narration is excellent and the book is enjoyable overall, but the story would be much more engrossminus the word ‘desire’.

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  • Steven
  • 2020-07-16

I love these books!

I have been reading every book in this series, and really love all of them. The Queen’s Fool is GREAT!

1 person found this helpful

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  • Lisa B. Hamilton
  • 2019-08-23

Very well read!

Great read made even better by the reader. Thoroughly engaged by learning about Jewish life in 16th century Europe.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Hannah Casey
  • 2019-08-05

Wonderously Good!

Hannah is like a modern girl, living in the past! Couldn't stop listening! So good!

1 person found this helpful